I was up in Washington D.C on September 1st, the day before the recent Middle-east peace talks.  When we went to the White House to photograph,it we saw a skit going on in front of the White House with a bunch of what looked like News crews filming it.  So i went up and snapped some pictures.  I couldn't tell exactly what was going on.  But I felt I was a part of history.   

Here is a newspaper article from the day after.

Thursday, September 2, 2010 8:29 AM EDT

Middle East peace talks resume today after nearly two-year break

By Gerald Helguero

Israelis and Palestinians will resume direct peace talks in Washington today after a nearly two-year break, as they pursue a two-state agreement that seeks to establish security for both sides.

President Barack Obama welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, along with other Middle East leaders including Jordan's King Abudullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Obama said at a press conference at the White House that the talks, which begin at 10 a.m. today, would be building upon previous leaders' attempts at peace, saying "it is their work that we carry on."

The talks come amid a week of violence in the region as Hamas militants attempting to derail the peace process claimed responsibility for killing four Israeli civilians and wounding two more. American, Israeli and Palestinian leaders denounced the attacks. President Obama called tham "heinous."

Netanyahu said he "didn't come here to find excuses or to make them."

"I have no doubt that peace is possible," he said. " I will not let the terrorists block our path to peace, but as these events underscore once again, that peace must be anchored in security."

Abbas called on Israelis to freeze settlement activities in the region "not setting a precondition but a call to implement an agreed obligation to end all the closure and blockade, preventing freedom of movement, including the [Gaza] siege."

He also outlined the major goals and objectives of the meeting, including resolving issues related to Jerusalem, refugrees, settlements, border security, water and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Among the other players in the talks are George Mitchell, the former senator and U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is the representative of the Quartet, a mediating group which includes the United Nations, United States, the European Union and Russia.

On Wednesday, Obama held talks with each of the participants individually.

Mubarak said that while a comprehensive peace treaty had eluded both sides for nearly the last two decades, "the accumulated experience of both parties" during previous negotiations had laid the groundwork for a possible "final settlement."

He also emphasized the need for stopping settlement activities "on the Palestinian Territory," saying they were "contrary to international law."

"They will not create rights for Israel, nor are they going to achieve peace or security for Israel.  It is, therefore, a priority to completely freeze all these activities until the entire negotiation process comes to a successful end," he said.

King Abudullah said that while there were "those on both sides who want us to fail ... we must prevail."

"For our failure would be their success in sinking the region into more instability and wars that will cause further suffering in our region and beyond," he said. Achieving an accord "is a precondition for security and stability of all countries of the Middle East, with a regional peace that will lead to normal relations between Israel and 57 Arab and Muslim states that have endorsed the Arab Peace Initiative."

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the direct negotiations were important.

"It is the only way to resolve these complex issues," he said, noting that "[i]t's not how you posture in public; it's what you're willing to deliver in private. That's how you get to a final settlement."

Indirect peace talks brokered by the White House began in May. Previous talks were scuttled after the three-week Gaza war which started in late 2008.